Margaret of Münsterberg (25 August 1473, Breslau – 28 June 1530,

Dessau Dessau is a district of the independent city of Dessau-Roßlau in Saxony-Anhalt at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the ''States of Germany, Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Until 1 July 2007, it was an independent ...

) was a German regent: Duchess of

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the 8th-largest state in Germany by area an ...

by marriage to Prince Ernest I, she ruled the principality as a

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

for her underage sons from 1516.

Life

Margaret was the fourth child of the Duke Henry the Elder of Münsterberg (1448–1498) and his wife

Ursula of Brandenburg Ursula, Margravine of Brandenburg (17 October 1488 – 18 September 1510) was a German noblewoman. She was born in Berlin, the daughter of John Cicero, Elector of Brandenburg, and Margarethe of Saxony. At age 19, on 16 February 1507 she mar ...

(1450–1508). She received a strictly religious education from her parents. In 1494, she married Prince Ernest I of Anhalt from the line of Anhalt-Zerbst. After the other lines of the Anhalt family died out, Ernest could reunite the Principality of Anhalt for the first time since 1252. They took up their residence in Dessau. Ernest died in 1516 and Margaret took up the regency of the principality for her underage sons John IV and

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

. Her regency was characterized by thrift and deep religiosity. She strictly opposed the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, which started spreading from neighbouring

Wittenberg Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is the fourth-largest town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, in the Germany, Federal Republic of Germany. It is situated on the River Elbe, north of Leipzig and south-west of the reunified German ...

in 1517. She found an ally in her first cousin

Albert Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mar ...

, who was Archbishop of

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; ) is the Capital city, capital of the Germany, German States of Germany, state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is on the Elbe river. Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archbishopric of Mag ...

. In 1525, Margaret launched the League of Dessau, an alliance of Catholic princes opposed to the Reformation. Her oldest son, John IV, who had been co-regent since 1522 and her second son George, who later became co-ruler as George III, had already built up contacts with

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

, but they did not lead their Principality into the Reformation until 1534 (with George III as the driving force), well after Margaret's death. Margarethe of Münsterberg managed to regain some manors located east of Wörlitz, that had been pledged to neighbouring

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. For this reason, the

Folwark ''Folwark'' is a Polish word derived from the German ''Vorwerk''. A Folwark or Vorwerk is an agricultural estate or a separate branch operation of such an estate, historically a serfdom-based farm and agricultural enterprise (a type of latif ...

Münsterberg in Griesen was named after her.

Descendants

* Thomas (1503–1503) *

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

(1504–1550 or 1551) : married Margaret of Brandenburg (1511–1577), daughter of Elector

Joachim I, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

of Brandenburg (1484–1535) *

George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...

(1507–1553) *

Joachim Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of ...

(1509–1561)

References and sources

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20090828100016/http://www.sachsen-anhalt.de/LPSA/index.php?id=8909 {{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret of Munsterberg 16th-century German nobility 16th-century women rulers Regents in the Holy Roman Empire 1473 births 1530 deaths Duchesses of Anhalt Princesses in the Holy Roman Empire Podiebrad family Mothers of German monarchs 16th-century women regents 16th-century regents